"Snakes"? I should think a rifle--any rifle--would be less than optimal for dealing with snakes. At ranges we typically take on snakes, the zero on the rifle will be way off for hitting a snake. A fast moving snake makes a tricky target in any event, I have found. Around the homestead, a nice, sharp hoe is, I think, a much more efficient device for dispatching venomous snakes than any firearm and won't disturb the neighbors. In the field, they are usually easily avoided...at least if you can see it well enough to shoot it. If you can't see it, the firearm won't do much good. If I lived in South Florida and there was a reasonable chance one of those damned 20-foot pythons turning up, I think I would rely on my full-choke Winchester Model 12 (12 gauge) loaded with #2 birdshot and aim for the head. The convulsions of one of those huge reptiles with its head shattered ought to be a sight to behold!

I'm late to this party and I have no idea how I missed this thread for so long. Had to jump in and say that that is a nice setup. May I recommend a simple vtac sling.

What kind of optics are you thinking about? Red dot, MRD, Acog, variable in the 1-6 range?

Thank you.

For the time being the Magpul will be it. There's a chance we could be buying a home in the mountains in the next ~2 years, and if that happens I will certainly be looking into long range shooting and thus upgrading the optics.

I note that product placement has made James Bond use some very silly things in "Spectre" - the preposterous use of a Mickey Mouse "carbine conversion" kit on a Glock 17 for the opening assassination sequence, being the most silly to my mind. There seems to be a big logic gap with this concept:

1. He is moving across the roofs from his own hotel room, where he can presumably store whatever weapon he prefers, so no need for compact/concealment.

2. Which is in any case not offering either, as the kit is more cumbersome than simply carrying a carbine in the first place.

3. And shooting someone through glass, even at the apparently short range of 20-30 yards, would probably recommend a bullet with higher velocity than a simple 9mm Luger.

So, I ask myself, and all you gun nuts, what should he have used?

I offer the following, from my own very limited experience of shooting Mexicans through windows from roofs:

1. Keep it simple and accessible: how about a simple and widely available hunting carbine? A Ruger Scout, for example, would be easily found, excusable as a hunting weapon for anyone caught transporting it, and give ten rounds of semi-auto .308 - more than enough for several bad guys, at almost any range.

2. If he wanted to be able to run around shooting the whole city, then perhaps scale that .308 up a notch in movie-friendly "tacticool", and pick up a SCAR or, if budget dictates, something like a PTR91: the range is short, so a folding stock carbine in the shortest barrel configuration offers both portability and firepower. The rail options would allow the use of whatever that listening device was that he had attached, too. (I do hope he switched that off before firing).

3. Or, why bother with a rifle at all? He's James fucking Bond. Surely he can hit a man from thirty yards away with a pistol? If he wants a high capacity pistol like the G17, fair enough - all the versatility he needs for then subsequent mayhem. Maybe a bit more bang alone would be sufficient, so how about a 20/29/40 if Glock are paying the bills and he wants to make a point? Or my personal vote would be for the FN Five-Seven: more rounds, high penetration for that whole assassinating-through-a-pane-of-glass factor, and a nice compact little package. And as he's carrying all that crap around, perhaps he could even stretch to a red dot and a suppressor. That always looks good, and a man of his age needs to think of his hearing, too.

I think that's my winner:

So, gun nuts of SF: what do you usually use to execute Mexicans in neighbouring buildings? I'm looking at you, @DerekS: you stick with your beloved AR, or go with one of they fancy pistols of yours?

My easily accessible is a Colt Combat Commander series 70 in satin nickel. I intend to use it to make a fighting retreat to the gun safe where other options are availible if the occasion ever comes up.